Republican Rick Perry raised $8.4 million in the last month, bringing to nearly $37 million the amount he's raised for reelection as Texas governor. Perry's latest report covers the last four weeks of furious fundraising in the race against Democrat Bill White. White's has not yet reported his totals.

Perry's biggest campaign donor in the last month is Houston homebuilder Bob Perry (no relation), who delivered another $600,000 to the governor's campaign treasury. The Republican governor also indirectly benefited from another big Bob Perry donation -- $3 million from the Republican Governors Association. That pretty well matches the $3.5 million that Bob Perry gave the Republican governors group in recent weeks. Four years ago, Bob Perry delivered $1 million to the governors group, which sent $1 million to Perry in the closing days of the 2006 campaign. A judge subsequently ruled the transaction violated state law by hiding the source of the money until after the election. The RGA can avoid the same fate this time by making its filings more transparent.

Other big Perry donors in the latest report include Dallas investor Harold Simmons, whose nuclear waste site in Andrews County still faces approval by a Perry-dominated board on whether to accept toxic waste from other states. Simmons gave Perry $250,000. Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which supports limiting lawsuits against business, gave $150,000. Investment manager Robert Zorich gave $15,000. Zorich's firm, EnCap Investments, is cited in a whistleblower's memo that alleges Perry appointees pressured managers of the Teacher Retirement System to invest in the companies of big Perry donors, including EnCap. The TRS says the allegations were investigated and without merit.White allies say the probe was not a thorough investigation.